Atlas Shrugged is the book that for me put into words the feelings and scattered thoughts I had on how the world works, or more precisely, how people work. It defines two kinds of individuals, those who work, and those who leech on them. I remember watching a show on about a dozen young men and women who were dropped in Alaska for a reality TV show. The group quickly divided in two: Half started building shelters, hunting, making fire, etc. while the other half just sat there complaining. The later were the first to give up. That's how things work, half of the world is forced to provide for the other half. The leechers have a powerful weapon unfortunately, taxes... Taxpayer's money is supposed to be for building the country's infrastructure and protect it, as well as providing law and order. That's not what it's used for today... Not only that, now there is a certain private sector that uses government to wage wars to sell their hardware and oil. All that paid with the stolen fruit of our labor. Scary thing is that now they are making sure law enforvement is armed enough to keep everyone in check. Unfortunately this general process is a one-way street. It only gets worse... And that's why we are prepping, becasue we know nothing good will come of it. The story of Atlas Shrugged stops short of violent civil unrest, but if there was a second book, it would be a dystopian novel like the ones we probably have all read. Galt's Gulch would be a prepper's community hidden in the mountains. The idea of the movers striking is a brilliant one. Unfortunately most of them either do not care that they are being used or are leechers themselves, using subventions, tax or bailout money to operate. There are very few Galts in this world willing to throw it all away and just go fishing.. If they did they would become the target of the bulk of the population that want their handouts and do not understand that there is no free lunch.

"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." I just wish Rand was a little less verbose.

Back on topic. Hey NCGunDude, thanks for the link to the cheap speaker-mic. I just ordered one. I assume it's not a super quality one, but "plenty good". Same as my Baofeng. This spring I worked communications in a 1st aid tent at the Boston Marathon. I used my FT-60 with its speaker mic clipped to my shoulder strap (the Baofeng was my backup). Having the speaker-mic was a big convenience.

Luigi

Freax,I think what is being conveyed is sentiment brought about in the book and movie Atlas Shrugged. In the story, heavy taxation and regulations imposed by governments to pay for social programs hurt the people they were trying to protect. The companies and industries were increasingly brought under the government's mandates, as a result they could not be successful. The result was loss of jobs and degradation of society. All of this was written in the 1950's. Basically I think some of the comments here are a hope to see an end to these mandates and intrusiveness so that the economy can improve.

It is disconcerting to hear of your struggles to stay ahead. I understand. Jobs are harder to come by as a result of people having to take on more than one job to make ends meet as a result of increases in taxes and health insurance and consumer prices. Less disposable income is available in society, and the economy suffers under the current conditions. Keep up the efforts. Learn and adapt to the new changes in the workforce. You will prevail. You have a skill -- a will to succeed.

As for the topic of this thread. The UV-5 is an indication on how the industry is changing and the location of manufacturing is adjusted to all of the taxation, and government mandates in the global economy. The Chinese are smart in using their huge workforce to create goods at a competitive rate. All we can do in our Western Society is try to remove the barriers blocking the us from being competitive and innovative.

I asssume you paid a ton of taxes for years before you went on welfare.. Things happen, and if essentially you are getting your money back, then you have no reason to feel bad about it. I also assume you would rather work than get welfare.. The problem is that a lot of people would rather live on welfare than work. Those are the leeches. They make a living out of government handouts and have no plan to find a job. What they do is just as bad as robbing someone at gunpoint in a dark alley. It is legal, but it is wrong.

You can't imagine being on welfare for the rest of your life, but some people would be quite happy to live like that.

BTW I never thought you were lazy from reading your posts. As you say, you have educated yourself and apparently very well. You say you gave up after six years.. Is that a failure? I don't think so. You obviously are well educated in electronics, and probably other subjects.

In my opinion, morally speaking, a man is responsible for his own subsistence, and his children's. He should not force others to pay for him. Having a job is not a right. It's not owed to anyone by anyone. Sure, it would be great if everyone had a job, but you can't force people to hire someone they do not need. Imagine if a government official came to your house and told you to hire someone to mow your lawn or go to jail!

Education today is widely available and mostly free. It only takes an Internet connection to learn anything you could possibly want. There are free university classes available for download, tutorials, forums, videos, e-books, you name it. I learned programming from books and now work freelance. I am not rich, don't even own a car, but I get by. You learned electronics.. It is possible. I have even learned to forge knives with a forge, anvil and hammer. I made the anvil out of scrap steel. One can also learn by experimentation.

The global economy being what it is, unfortunately not everyone is going to find a job. It's not fair; life isn't.

If after decades of paying taxes I found myself in a bind, I would delay using welfare as much as possible, but given no choice, I would use it, for as short a time as possible. Because I have already paid for it. I would however vote against any new welfare programs and against any politician that promotes them.

QuoteSo by your own logic, why are you being so mean to people who are merely unlucky?

Hello,

I am not being mean at all. It is a sad state of affairs that so many people can't find work. I am not an economist and there are too many variables for me to have a definite opinion on the causes of the problem and possible solutions, though I suspect a free marketplace without govenment intervention would improve the situation after a difficult adjustment period, which nobody is willing to go through.. I am actually a pretty nice guy, my friends will attest to that, and I would no let any of them go hungry if I could help it. However, I am not responsible for the welfare of everyone. I need to take care of myself, family if they need it, and possibly friends sporadically, if I can. What I am vehemently against is someone forcing me to pay for people I do not know. If they asked politely, I might chip in, but don't take it from me. Someone's needs does not give them the right to steal from me. It's simple really: The fruit of my labor belongs to me because it is produced with my efforts, sweat and life. If I am forced to work twice as much to pay for others, that is slavery. I am very much againts slavery, mine or yours.

QuoteThe international banks are playing each party off against each other, ripping the entire system apart.

"Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it." -- Woodrow Wilson.

Not sure if this belongs here in in the Technical Corner.Here's a link to an article where the guy makes a Baofeng programming cable that uses current Windows plug-n-play drivers (no need to download a driver). He used 2 audio connectors and a $4 UART from eBay.